


The Quenta Cilinatanion: Or, the Nine Races of Men

by Avatar_Vyakara



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, Fix-It of Sorts, Middle Earth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avatar_Vyakara/pseuds/Avatar_Vyakara
Summary: Being a translation of the works of Alvocera the Voyager, who journeyed to the Utmost West and was given works by the Al-Daar concerning the lands of Arda, beyond the scope of the Utmost West. These are the tales of a twilight world, half in Shadow and half in Light, and the lanterns Men lit against the darkness.
Kudos: 2





	1. The Nine Races of the Atani

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is no falsehood in the stories told in the Quenta Silmarillion; but they are not the full story. Come, if you will, and see for yourselves the rest of Middle-Earth, and the legends that rose from the music of the Valar, the singing of the Elves, the hammers of the Dwarves, and the dances of Men who stay but a short time here.

**THE NINE RACES OF MEN**

_Introduction by Dorian Kaneff, July 2020_

At the beginning of the Second Age, says the story of the _Akallabêth_ , the Edain were the only ones who had fought tirelessly and truly against the power of Morgoth. Even at the beginning, the Eldar say, while the rest fell under his spell, the ancestors of the Edain sought in the uttermost West for a light that the Darkness could not dim. For this, they were rewarded not only with a land untouched by the dark of their very own--Andor, upon which was built the Kingdom of Númenórë--but also with "wisdom and power and life more enduring than any others of mortal race have possessed."

And yet no-one among the Valar could have believed that this was sufficient, to keep a small spark of "pure" Men close to them while the rest of the world suffered. Even with the great ships of Númenor travelling to all corners of the world, this would not be enough Light at all times to bring them peace.

The story of the _Akallabêth_ , and the _Quenta Silmarillion_ itself--they are told with an eye to the world the West knew, a world that the West wished to ignore.

True, none besides the Edain had made any real _progress_ when it came to traipsing West to find the Untouched Light. Some had indeed fallen under Morgoth's spell, following him under fear as much any other reason, and fighting fervently that they might not meet his wrath, and spreading discomfort and evil to other Men. But after Morgoth's fall those Men went back to their old tribes, those who remained uncortupted by Morgoth and yet did not think it wise or safe to seek light or dark and expose themselves to the Great War that took so many of their own. For this the _Akallabêth_ calls them "wild and lawless"; but perhaps it is truer to say that what laws they had, good or bad, they made for themselves; their wildness was in their adherence to and rejection of light and dark alike, equally and at once.

There is another book from Númenorean lands, translated by the 11th Century Andalusian scholar Hamid Al-Baseera ( _Alvocera_ in European texts, and apparently given the name _Satar_ by the elves of Tol Eressëa, as he came after Ælfwine of England), called the **_Natannawî_** , or _Quenta Nertatanion_ , or "The Nine Races of Man". It tells a tale that must, I fear, be truncated somewhat, for it is prefixed with attempts to reassure the reader that he had _not_ , in fact, gone mad, but that "the _djinn_ of the West, beings created afore us and of fire instead of earth, saved me and spake unto me, telling me tales of their battles against _afārīt_ and _shayāt'īn_ \--that they called _orcor_ and _valaraucar_ \--of the angels they followed, and the One God, whom they call First and Fatherless, whom they follow still." For more on Al-Baseera's journey, see any copy of the _Kitāb al-Jinni al-Gharb_.

The rough translation provided here of begins thus:

After the Council of the Valar had blessed the Atani with their Gifts, there came a protest from Oromë. For it was in his nature to seek out and destroy the Dark, and preserve the light wherever it could be found. The race of Men had been secured, he said, in but a small part; the rest of Arda was still shrouded in darkness. Not only this, but there were still those who were untouched by the Light of the West, for they had not sought it, but did not deserve the Dark left behind by Melkor through his servants. "Thou hast given them thy blessing, Manwë, through Eönwë's deeds," he said. "But I beg thee to let me send messengers of my own to some people in the Far East, that the Darkness may yet be hunted down and destroyed in all places through their doing." In this his sister Nessa joined him, and her husband Tulkas. Nienna spoke next; she saw much grief in Middle-Earth, grief of Elves and Men and Maiar and Dwarves, families torn apart by conflicts bigger than themselves. Time to heal, she said, would be best; perhaps there were those who could yet learn her craft. Aulë and Yavanna, protectors of the earth's riches and its inhabitants, hoped to seek to enlighten their own humans; for Aulë was closest in mind to Melkor, and believed his protection would sway them away from the tendencies that oft befell his own, while Yavanna dreamed of finding a race of Men who would see as her Children saw, and protect her works. On this Vána agreed. Irmo and Estë were of one mind in this also; there was so much potential in their minds for more, they said, that it would be foolish to deny them true dreams and healing hands, for these are the best remedies against oppression and evil thought. Ulmo gave no reason. "They are the Children of Eru, and we their guardians," spake he. "And we have lost too many children." Only Námo and Varda did not seek champions of their own; Námo knew not of their Doom and could not impose himself upon them, while Varda felt her work to be complete (for she had given them stars and sun and moon). Manwë, too, had sent a messenger unto the Númenoreans; he did not wish to send Eönwë forth a second time.

And so there was a gathering of the Maiar, and eight messengers were sent forth. They would come to watch over their people, and as Uinen and Eönwë were beloved of the Númenoreans so too would they become holy in the eyes of those they visited.

These are the Nine Races, called in Adûnaic the _Natannawî_ and in Quenya the _i Cailë Atani_ "the Chosen Men", as distinct from the _Atani_ or "Edain":

Eönwë, herald of Manwë, came to the Isle of Númenor and found there the **Edain** , and gave them wise heads and tall shapes, and a span of years five times the length of mortals elsewhere; and to their kings were given four hundred years instead of three, that they might live and govern the longer. For a long time their capital was in Númenor, and they were closest to the Valar; later, they founded the kingdoms of Gondor and Árnor, among their lesser brethren.

Salmar, he who makes the Horns for Ulmo, sought at the behest of his Vala to the east, and there found the **Rathrim** or Shore-Dwellers, and to them he gave compassion and the strong, long bodies needed to swim, and an unerring sense of direction when in contact with rivers or the sea.

Angano, the spirit of iron-working and a servant of Aulë, looked to the South of Middle-Earth, where no Dwarves had awoken, and there he found the **Dáin** or Smiths. And to them he gave diligence for their work and strong bodies that could endure most hardships; and to their chiefs he gave immunity to fire and heat, that they might be protected against the darkness wrought by Melkor beneath the earth or the dragons that still roamed free.

Coirië, maiden of spring, went forth for Yavanna and Vána to the heart of the North, where the cold was greatest and the nights darkest; and though the heat of summer would never truly fall upon the people there she blessed the **Forodwaith** all the same. And to the strange, stocky people she gave the patience they would need until the sun drew nearer to them again, and a love of community both among Men and among the _kelvar_ and _olvar_. But the best gift of all she gave to the shamans, who could draw to themselves the skins of animals and walk within them; and though this was a gift found elsewhere in the world, as a power of good and evil alike, here alone were they given also the ability to speak with the animals, and for this reason did not harm them, and bade them thrive in their lands.

Irmo's messenger was Enellenyo, who draws memory of many places past and future to aid in dreaming; he went East to the lands of Hildórien, and found there the **Coer** or Shelterers, those who hid from the darkness of Melkor and did not trust the light in the west. And he gave to them peace, and endurance through many things; but to a chosen few he granted sight beyond the walls of Arda, as they would see once they had passed, and the scope of the wide world, and in this way they do not yet fear death, for dreams of other worlds yet to be explored sing them to easy slumber when the time comes.

Estë's chosen was Malië, who loves best healing through rebirth; and she was of both Estë and Yavanna, and was sent forth with the blessing of the two. To the north of Harad she came, along the Harnen river that runs from Mordor to the Bay of Umbar, for if any land was most in need of healing it was that dry desert. And so she met the **Sentair** , the Gardeners, along the River. Their strength was in building, and yet compassion enough was there within that she could strengthen; a love for the land and its creatures, and joy at their resurrection after a flood. To their terraced gardens she gave joy and beauty, and taught them to cultivate it; but to their priests she gave healing hands, that could close any wound and break any ill, until the last breath. And this they were said to use not only on themselves--that they might complete their span at a time of their own choosing, free from ailments that might stay their passing--but on the great spirits, the oliphaunts and ents and even lions and crocodiles, who visited their rivers.

Nienna sent forth Fellë, her most patient spirit, to the West. Furthest from the Great Sea she found Men who travelled along the rivers leading to the Sea of Rhûn, and who felt not evil (for theirs had been a race that fell under Morgoth's sway early, and chased the Edain to the west) but guilt, seeing about them the wreckage of the world. For their suffering and grief she gave the **Rynainn** or Redeemers quiet fortitude, the bravery to believe that they could yet be forgiven in the eyes of the world. And to those who felt most deeply she gave the power not to heal, but to wash away grief and darkness in others by their presence and comfort, that they may learn to live again. Many were killed, when Sauron came; but the line remains, and many more have been born.

Ombor, the servant of Oromë who knows all tongues of living beings, found himself on the Great Steppe south of the Sea of Rhûn, where Sauron would later turn to farmland for his armies. And he saw that the hunting of darkness had not yet ended; for though many races of Men had turned in fear to the Servants of Melkor who fled to the east, yet there were those who had banded together, seeking out horses and riding down the worst of the new chiefs--and orcs besides. Ombor gave the **Rechyn** or Riders strength of body and stubbornness of mind, that they may seek out their enemies more thoroughly. To them also he gave greater and stronger senses, that they might know what and who surrounded them, with some individuals for miles on end. Thus they knew and could sense dark things coming even when they made as though to hide, and could hear the whispers of their enemies. The strongest of these are truly terrifying to behold; and it is from this stock that the Variags come, and the Nazgûl known as Khamûl.

Hófarano, loved and taught by Tulkas and Nessa both, sought out not the strongest people but the happiest, those who despite never finding the light were unburdened by cares. These he found: the **Gladhrim** , in the far south of the world, a race of men to whom laughter came easily and dancing even more so. Hófarano gave them courage, and strengthened their joy at the light in the south of the world; but the greatest gift he gave unto them was the speed of Tulkas and Nessa. The Gladhrim are the Running Men, faster than any horse can go, and for longer; they chase down their prey, be it food or enemy, with barely a glimmer of sweat. Dark as night they are, open of face and strong of fist; and their sworn enemies are the Slave-Makers, who sit in halls of gold and capture people from tribes across the continent as servants--or as sacrifices to the forces of darkness.

All the Nine were blessed; and to all the Nine did Sauron later give rings that would amplify their powers, and so enthralled them to become his Nazgûl.


	2. The Rathrim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first race of Men, the Edain, have been subject to many tales elsewhere; better, perhaps, to start with the second, the Men of the Far East, who never left their homes and yet loved the light no less.

(Summarized from Chapter 3 of the _Kitab Al-Jinni Al-Gharb_ )

The Maia known as Salmar by the High Elves was best by them for his making, by time and patience, the great conches upon which Ulmo makes his music. Not for him the flutes of Manwë, or the harps of Yavanna, or the voices raised in song of Aulë; his songs are long and melancholy, speaking of the depth of the sea in which any creature may be lost, and yet all the more beautiful for it. And Salmar came to Middle-Earth to herd the creatures that would make these shells, and they prospered under his watchful eye and made innumerable shells of all shapes and sizes and colours. There are no halls of Ulmo, for all of Ekkaia the Outer Ocean is his home, never mind that it has since become merely the Encircling Sea; and so the conches are stored safely in caches across the world, some on the ocean floor, others along forgotten coastlines or on unknown isles. It is Salmar's duty to seek these out; like Ossë and Uinen, he too came close to the shores of Middle-Earth, many a time.  
  
Salmar is quiet but joyful; his purview is the great snails that forge the beautiful shells of their own bodies, and he delights in the vast variety and ingenuity, both of the snails and those who seek them out. His work is pleasurable; often in the deep past he sang into being new creatures with unusual shapes, that a new song might be played upon them and the ocean enriched. Ulmo delights in his labour and company.  
  
And it came to pass, at the beginning of the Second Age, that the Enrichment of Men had begun under the guidance of the Valar. And Ulmo sent forth Salmar; for he knows all songs that come from his shells, and sought after those who would call upon them not for war alone, but for the joy of their music. Manwë had chosen the West, closest to Valinor, so Ulmo bade Salmar to seek in the east, "where Elves and Men alike awoke, near the lapping of the sea." Salmar passed along the coast, listening with keen ears stronger and more subtle than those of any living thing.  
And near the shores of Hildórien itself, he found Men who had found creatures of his own devising, and used their shells as horns. But not only for combat; for the music they played was sweet and powerful, and though a poor imitation of the songs Salmar had made still held a power of their own. Upon the land they faced their own kind whom Melkor had taken; and these petty lords hated the sounds of the conches, for their allies--all manner of ghastly beings, orcs and trolls and enormous serpents--felt the power of the shell-songs.  
  
And Salmar came ashore; and he was mighty in form, a being of water incarnate; and with the cry of his horns the monsters shrank back; for the sound was one of the beauty of the sea, the glistening of the foam on the waves as they rushed against the shore, the inevitable tide that cleansed the land of all filth. And many among Men were afraid; but some stepped forth, and played their shells in kind. And their leader was Halu-Yora, that is "warm silver light"; but the Elves called him **Lōkajilya**.  
  
"I can give you no place of refuge from the dark," said Salmar, whom they called Kanima (for that was his name in the tongue of the Valar). "You have awakened to a world already torn between the dark and the light; and the light in the west is far from you. But I can give you safety in the waters, safety that should have been yours long before, that you might use it to escape to some safer place." And Salmar made their shoulders broader, their legs slimmer, and the delight they had in the waves and waters was increased tenfold. And he gave them shells of his own devising, which amplified the music they played and gave great peace to those who heard them. And Salmar gave them one more gift; that all their kin should know where they were in the world, so long as they were in contact with the waters. They would know the distance from the places they left to the places they came to, and would need not stars nor machines to do so.  
  
Salmar stayed with the Rathrim for fourscore years, enough time for a whole generation to grow up around him; and his passing was greatly mourned. And so they set out to find him, and hear again the sound of his horns that gave strength to their own calls against the dark.  
  
Thus it was that the Rathrim (in their own tongue the **Hara-Hara** ) came to build great boats upon the water, and sailed across the east and south of the world; and they lived, when they could not live in boats, on the shores of beautiful islands left behind by the Breaking of the World, islands that stretched in a great chain from the north to the south. They were not of one king; instead, many chiefs lived among them, children of great mariners. Their homes and tongues were many; some lived in-stilt houses and fished from poles, others lived in green lands but made pilgrimage to the sea, and others still never left the water but made their living as divers and sailors for other peoples.  
  
Ever they looked to the Evenstar for hope and as a father; for Salmar, or Kanima, or Kanimadâz, had told them much of the history of the world (though he used his own tongue and theirs, not those of Elves or of the Men of the Light), and they called him kin as a sailor upon the winds. And they were known across the East as traders, founding ports and harbours long before the Númenoreans arrived. They had no letters as we would know them; the **Lekaleka** or Speaking Pictures they had, descending as they did from the symbols of accounting made by Sauron for tribute to Angband. And these were not alike to those on the continent, carved into wood instead of painted on grass stalks, rounded and lengthened and fashioned into the shapes of fish or men or fires; but in their own way they were beautiful, and printed upon clothes they spoke secret spells to give guidance to the wearer. And to the time of the Númenoreans they lived, and were prosperous and content with their lot; and like as not they lived past the Downfall, though they too must have wept to find the waters that touched Valinor to be lost to them forever.  
  
To the Rathrim also were given the **Dayashilim** , the Great Pearls, fashioned and bequeathed by Salmar's brother Lano; but that is a tale for another time.


End file.
